No jail time for cancer-faking woman

No jail time for cancer-faking woman

Post file photo

FRAUD CASE CLOSED: Ashley Kirilow leaves a Milton courthouse with her lawyer Brendan Neil in November of last year. The 23 year old received no jail time for pretending to have cancer and collecting cash donations.

Ashley Kirilow, 23, pled guilty to one charge of fraud under $5,000 — to go along with a previous guilty plea to one count of fraud over $5,000 — before Justice Fred Forsyth in the Ontario Court of Justice in Milton on Wednesday afternoon.

Halton Crown attorney Brian O’Marra withdrew five similar charges of fraud under $5,000.

Kirilow received a 15-month conditional sentence broken into 10 months of house arrest to be served wherever she is living at the time. She will have three hours a week to shop for necessities.

The young woman has been living in the psychiatric ward of Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital since mid-February.

Following 10 months of house arrest Kirilow will have five months of imposed curfew, from 10 p.m.-6 a.m., wherever she is living at the time.

She also received 100 hours of community service and two years of probation, the latter of which begins after the 15-month conditional sentence.

Among the many conditions as part of her sentence is for Kirilow not to do volunteer work collecting money for any charity.

She was not fined and does not have to pay restitution to those scammed as the judge, O’Marra and Kirilow’s lawyer, Brendan Neil, agreed that it was not feasible since she does not work and all of the money she defrauded donors is gone.

A conditional sentence means that if a convicted person contravenes any aspect of the terms imposed on them by a court they could be ordered to spend all or a portion of their remaining sentence in jail.

Kirilow pled guilty to two instances of defrauding people of about $12,000 in fundraising scams starting in February 2009.

“There are virtually no receipts in this case, it was almost all cash (donations)…. it’s impossible to put a definitive (dollar) figure on this fraud,” O’Marra told the court.

Kirilow’s lawyer said his client is on a host of prescribed medications. He said her physician at Jo Brant described her as exhibiting symptoms of depression, general anxiety disorder, ADHD and personality disorder.

In 2008, Kirilow had a lump removed from her breast that was benign. However, she told her family and friends that she had cancer. She shaved her head, plucked her eyebrows and lashes to resemble a cancer patient. She started a Facebook page detailing her fake medical condition. People began to host a series of fundraisers to raise money for her fictitious charity and for her personal use.

The court was told that Kirilow came from a family where her mother was only 15 years old and her father 17 when she was born. Her parents separated and she bounced between living with either parent.

None of her family members were in court.

“It appears the motive (for the fraud) was a frantic desire for attention,” said O’Marra. “It is a serious breach of public trust,” he added though, noting her actions damaged the public’s confidence in making charitable donations.

While Justice Forsyth indicated some sympathy must be shown for Kirilow’s early home life and mental issues, he noted, “It was a protracted and elaborate fraud. I’m not suggesting she could not have stopped it.”